I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After quickly washing his face, Qing Deng tucked his arms into the wide sleeves of his kimono, then reached his hands out through the front of his kimono and forcefully pulled the kimono back, revealing his muscular upper body still covered in sweat.

This sticky, sweaty feeling is really unpleasant.

Wearing a full set of swordsmanship protective gear that's stuffy and hot in the sweltering summer heat is pure torture.

Even if you do nothing, just standing there will make you sweat profusely, so it goes without saying that Qingdeng wore it for 18 intense one-on-one matches.

When Qingdeng removed all his protective gear, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and he looked like he had just been pulled out of the water.

Qingdeng took out a handkerchief he always carried with him from his lower back and soaked it in a basin of water.

At that moment, Sanako's voice came from behind.

"Orange-kun".

"Hmm?" Qing Deng subconsciously turned his gaze in response to the sound.

Then, he saw a cute back of the head with a high ponytail, a beautifully shaped back, and a pair of slender feet tightly pressed against it. The horizontal circumference of the plump "peach" was slightly larger than that of a bear.

It was Sanako, who was sitting upright on the veranda connecting the mansion and the inner courtyard, with her back to Aoto.

When his gaze unconsciously swept over Sanako's overly prominent "peach," Aoto quickly and awkwardly looked away, not daring to look any longer.

The elastic flesh was all piled up because of the kneeling posture, and most of the two little feet were buried, with only a small part of the forefoot exposed.

This area is already quite noticeable because of its size, which makes the skirt and trousers stand up high.

The current sitting posture has directly elevated the attractiveness of this area to an unparalleled level.

Sanako was, after all, a young, unmarried woman.

Adhering to the principle of men and women not touching each other, after leading Qingdeng to the inner courtyard and having Qingdeng wash his body with the water from the well in the inner courtyard, Sanako sat down with her back to Qingdeng, only exposing the back of her head, her back, her buttocks, and the soles of her small feet to Qingdeng.

"Do you need me to find you a clean towel?"

"Oh, no need. I have a handkerchief that I always carry with me, I can use that handkerchief."

After saying that, Qingdeng took the towel that was soaking in the basin, wrung it out, and carefully wiped his body from head to toe with the towel.

"Miss Sanako, I'm so sorry to have troubled you to bring me here to wipe my sweat and rest."

"You're too kind," Sanako said calmly. "These are just things I should do."

Sanako paused at this point.

"In fact... I'm the one who should be saying 'sorry' to you."

"Hmm?" Aoto Asako cast a questioning look at him.

"...Since there's no one else here, I'll be frank with you. Tachibana-kun, the reason so many people suddenly want to challenge you today is because of me."

A hint of guilt rose on Sanako's cheeks... It was a pity that because she was facing away from Aoto, Aoto didn't get to see it.

Sanako was about to continue her explanation when she was interrupted by Aoto's light laughter.

"Haha, you mean this..."

Qing Deng smiled calmly.

“I already knew about this.”

"You already knew?"

Sanako instinctively wanted to turn her head to look at Aoto behind her, but she suddenly remembered that Aoto was half-naked, so she quickly stopped and straightened her head, which was slightly tilted and almost saw what was behind her.

“I knew all along that those people who first challenged me were your suitors.”

Qing Deng told Sanako in detail how he had overheard the plot of the "Sanako suitors' group" while he was in the restroom.

Upon hearing this, Sanako lightly bit her rosy lower lip, then parted her lips and let out a soft sigh.

"I'm so sorry... It's all because of me that you've gotten yourself into this trouble for no reason."

"No need to apologize. Strictly speaking, today's events have nothing to do with you. The instigators are your group of fanatical suitors."

“Those people… are really annoying. Instead of doing anything decent, they always come up with all sorts of crooked and evil schemes. I need to have a good discussion with my father and brother about what to do with them. They came to pick a fight with you today for such a strange reason, so who knows what absurd things they might do to someone else in the future.”

"Haha, from another perspective, I should also thank these people. Thanks to them, I was able to compete with many masters one by one today. Today's battle has benefited me a lot."

—I have indeed benefited a lot and discovered a lot of talent...I've made a fortune.

After silently adding that sentence in his mind, Qingdeng continued:

"The Chiba Sword Hall truly lives up to its reputation; the overall quality of its members is truly exceptional."

"Although it may not be appropriate for a disciple of the Shieikan to say such things... in terms of the overall quality of the disciples, the Chiba Sword Hall is far superior to our Shieikan."

"I increasingly feel that the 'Red and White Battle' six months ago, in which our Shieikan was able to defeat your Chiba Kenkan, really had a lot of luck involved."

"If some of the people who challenged me today had actually participated in the competition back then... then your Chiba Kendo Hall would have been the ultimate winner."

Of the 18 challengers that Qing Deng faced today, most of them did not appear in the "Red and White Battle" six months ago.

At that time, many of the top fighters from the Chiba Kenkan were either busy with other matters or not interested in the competition, so they did not participate in this "Red and White Battle" against the Shieikan.

If all the masters from the Chiba Sword Hall had participated in the competition back then... then, just as Aoto just said, no matter how hard he, Souji, and the others fought, they would have no chance of winning.

In terms of high-end combat power, Shieikan is no less than Chiba Kenkan.

Even if Okita, Kondo, Hijikata, and Inoue were placed in the Chiba Kendo Hall, they would still be top-notch fighters.

Especially Okita; if it were a one-on-one fight, none of the disciples of the Chiba Sword Hall could rival him.

However, in terms of combat strength at the lower and middle levels... Shieikan was completely outmatched by Chiba Kenkan.

After listening quietly to Qing Deng's words, Sanako blinked her beautiful eyes a few times.

"That 'Red and White Battle' from half a year ago... Time flies. It's been half a year since we competed together at Shieikan."

"It's really unbelievable."

The light in Sanako's eyes flickered slightly as she finished muttering those words.

Qing Deng, puzzled by Sanako's "How incredible," raised a bewildered gaze at her.

"Tachibana-kun, your talent, your speed of progress... it's incredible."

Sanako said softly in a calm tone.

"Even though you were weaker than me in the 'Red and White Battle' six months ago, Tachibana-kun."

"But in the past six months, your strength has changed dramatically."

"Your speed of improvement is astonishing."

"I still remember the scene more than four months ago at the sword tournament held by the Aizu Lord, where I witnessed you effortlessly defeating the outstanding newcomers from various sword schools one by one."

"To this day, not only are the outstanding newcomers of various sword schools in Edo no longer able to defeat you, but even the top students of our Chiba Sword School are no match for you."

"Although I am very unwilling... after watching your battle just now, I already know that you are now far stronger than me."

"In the art of swordsmanship, you have reached a level that I can only look up to."

"To be honest... I'm a little envious of you."

As she said this, Sanako's eyelids drooped slightly, her gaze lowered as she looked at her hands folded on her knees, a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth, and a bitter smile on her pretty face.

His tone became unpredictable and his emotions became hard to decipher.

"If only... I had your extraordinary talent..."

Although he couldn't see Sanako's face, Aoto could sense from her tone that Sanako seemed to be feeling down.

The two of them were just chatting happily when, without any warning, Sanako's mood suddenly plummeted... This rapid change caught Aoto off guard.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Sanako took a deep breath and then quickly said in an apologetic tone.

"I think I've been talking about too many boring things."

"Please forget everything I just said."

"Ju-kun, are you thirsty? My brother's friend just gave us a few jars of plum juice yesterday. It tastes pretty good. Would you like to try some?"

Sanako tried to change the subject... but her approach was a bit too abrupt.

Qing Deng ignored the new question that Sanako had thrown at him in a blunt manner.

He stared intently at the back of Sanako's head, his eyelids blinking very slowly as he focused on thinking.

"Tachibana-kun?"

Qing Deng remained silent for a long time, which made Sanako's eyes look a little confused.

Because she didn't know whether Aoto was wearing clothes or not, Sanako still didn't dare to turn her face away.

At that moment, Sanako heard a "snap" sound.

This is the sound of Qingdeng throwing the towel in his hand into the basin of water.

"Hmm... If we're talking about exceptional talent... Miss Sanako, you don't need to feel too ashamed of yourself."

Qingdeng smiled as he washed the towel in the basin.

"You are the most powerful female warrior I have ever seen in my life."

"When I first saw your swordsmanship, your superb skills took me by surprise."

"You also possess extraordinary talents that are difficult for ordinary people to match."

"So, in conclusion..."

Qingdeng stopped washing the handkerchief and raised his right hand to scratch the back of his head.

The smile on his face turned into a dry laugh... He was trying hard to think of the right words, thinking about how to end his above remarks in a beautiful way.

A moment later, Qingdeng lowered his hand from his hair.

A calm yet powerful voice reached Sanako's ears once again.

“…Miss Sanako, you don’t need to belittle yourself.”

"If you strive to be the best and forge ahead bravely, then no one and nothing in this world can stop you from shining."

"With your skills, Miss Sanako, one day you will also achieve something in martial arts that will impress and impress everyone."

"I truly believe this."